Latest news with #OccupiedTerritoriesBill
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Taoiseach hits back at US ambassador's 'vat of Guinness' comments over Occupied Territories Bill
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has hit back at claims from a senior Trump administration figure that the Government "fell into a vat of Guinness" when drawing up the Occupied Territories Bill. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee had posted on social media that Ireland should "sober up" and apologise to Israel for the bill's passage through the Oireachtas. "Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness and propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication?" Mr Huckabee said in the post. "It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland! Call [the Israel foreign ministry] and say you're sorry!" Trade ban The bill will ban the trade of goods with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. The Government said there is a narrow legal basis, based on an advisory opinion from the UN's top court, to ban the trade of goods with illegal Israeli settlements. The Government has said this is being done to comply with the International Court of Justice, which said last year that countries should "take steps to prevent trade or investment relations" that maintain illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. In response, Mr Martin said that he "rejects the comments made by the ambassador". "The situation is very serious in Gaza, including an appalling loss of human life. Terrible war crimes are being committed," he said. "Ireland has consistently condemned Hamas and we equally condemn Israeli breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza. The slaughter of children must stop. The slaughter of innocent civilians queuing for food must stop. What is going on is beyond any moral compass. "Ireland stands for peace and a political pathway forward." Mr Huckabee's criticism was echoed by others in the US, including the pro-Israel organisation, the Anti-Defamation League, which said it was "deeply concerned" about the bill, which will impact a small amount of trade. On Wednesday in the Seanad, Senator Michael McDowell roundly rejected all and any claims that the actions of Ireland, its Government, or its Houses of Parliament were motivated by, or amounted, to anti-semitism. Claims that Ireland's position reflected anti-semitism, which he defined as hatred of Jews, were grossly defamatory and untrue. 'Our position on Gaza is shared by many Israeli Jews, including a former Israeli prime minister.' Referring to the appearance of former deputy Alan Shatter at an Oireachtas committee, Mr McDowell cited a passage in a book written and published by Mr Shatter in which the former justice minister had claimed that an accusation of 'arrogance' made against him by Willie O'Dea in the Dáil was an 'anti-semitic' trope. 'It is simply defamatory and untrue to assert that Ireland's position on Gaza and recognition of the Palestinian state was motivated by anti-semitism or hatred of Jews.' Read More Crush at Gaza aid site kills at least 20, GHF blames armed agitators
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Taoiseach rejects US politicians' claims that Occupied Territories Bill is ‘diplomatic intoxication'
The Taoiseach has rejected a claim by the US ambassador to Israel that Ireland is suffering from 'diplomatic intoxication' in progressing something as 'stupid' as the Occupied Territories Bill. Mike Huckabee's comments came amid similar criticisms from a number of senior US politicians, who warned the Government that enacting the Occupied Territories Bill would be harmful for Ireland . The proposed Bill is expected to go before the Dáil in the autumn. The legislation would prohibit trading with companies operating in illegal settlements in the West Bank and other occupied territories. At least 10 members of Congress have shared their criticisms of the Bill on X (formerly Twitter) in what would appear to be a concerted campaign. READ MORE On Wednesday Mr Huckabee posted: 'Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication? It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland! Call @IsraelMFA & say you're sorry!' [ Government effort to ban occupied territories trade gets EU boost Opens in new window ] Responding, Mr Martin said: 'I reject the comments made by the ambassador. The situation is very serious in Gaza, including an appalling loss of human life. Terrible war crimes are being committed.' Mr Martin said there is 'continuing shocking behaviour' in the West Bank, including 'the freedom that's given to extreme settlers to destroy settlements and housing belonging to Palestinians who've been there on that land for generations'. There have been claims that US companies based in Ireland could be subject to fines and penalties if the Bill passes, as it could breach American laws that prohibit BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) activity against Israel. Mr Martin said BDS legislation could 'inadvertently' affect companies. 'We don't want companies that are based in Ireland and employing people punished in any shape or form. That would be counterproductive in terms of the objective being to leverage pressure on Israel, not on Ireland,' Mr Martin said. 'But we will consider that, and obviously we will take legal opinion on it.' But the Taoiseach added that the 'situation has moved on', with the European Union confirming member states should consider the legal opinion of the International Court of Justice in the context of member states' trade relationships with the occupied territories. 'To be fair to president Trump, he's a man who doesn't like war, and I would hope that he can exert pressure to bring about an end to the terrible and horrific killing in Gaza.' Lisa McClain, the chair of the House Republicans, said 'any legislation boycotting, divesting or sanctioning Israel would be a huge mistake for Ireland'. 'This type of extreme anti-Semitic hate is unacceptable and should be rejected.' Republican senator Lindsey Graham posted: 'I hope that Ireland will reconsider their efforts to economically isolate Israel [...] I do not believe these efforts would be well received in the United States and they certainly would not go unnoticed.' Senator Rick Scott, also a Republican, said: 'This foolish move not only wrongfully targets Israel & the Jewish Community, but also harms American businesses. They should think twice about the message they're sending by passing this Bill, which complicates our economic relationship & targets our ally.'
RTÉ News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
US Ambassador to Israel official calls on Ireland to 'sober up' over OTB
The US Ambassador to Israel has criticised the Occupied Territories Bill, calling on Ireland to "sober up". The bill would prohibit trade between Ireland and Israel's illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It was scrutinised yesterday by the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and was introduced by Independent Senator Frances Black. Mike Huckabee described the bill as "so stupid" and questioned if it could be attributed to an act of "diplomatic intoxication". "Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness," he said in a post on social media platform X. Mr Huckabee said the bill, known as the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Bill, "will harm Arabs as much as Israelis". He urged Ireland to "call the Israel Foreign Ministry and say you're sorry!" His comments come after the bill was scruntinised at the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday during which former minister for justice Alan Shatter likened it to legislation passed in Germany in the 1930s. , and replicated the type of legislation initiated by the Nazis. However, Committee chair John Lahart of Fianna Fáil said that a claim made during the proceedings that the bill is anti-Semitic was "hugely hurtful and slanderous". Labour TD Duncan Smith said there was a failure to recognise that the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories are illegal. "That's a fundamental point of divergence," he said, adding Israel was "not the only example of Ireland deploying such a bill". In 2014, he said, an "identical bill was passed in Irish law prohibiting trade in goods and services with Russian-occupied Ukraine".
Irish Times
17 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Prominent US politicians calls Occupied Territories Bill ‘extreme antisemitic hate'
A large number of US politicians have warned the Government that enacting the Occupied Territories Bill would be harmful for Ireland . The proposed bill is expected to be put before the Dáil in the autumn. The legislation would prohibit trading with companies operating in illegal settlements in the West Bank and other occupied territories. At least 10 members of Congress have shared their criticisms of the bill on X in what would appear to be a concerted campaign. They were joined by the US ambassador to Israel Mick Huckabee who posted on X: 'Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication? It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland! Call @IsraelMFA & say you're sorry!' [ Government effort to ban occupied territories trade gets EU boost Opens in new window ] Lisa McClain, the chair of the House Republicans, stated that 'any legislation boycotting, divesting, or sanctioning Israel would be a huge mistake for Ireland. 'This type of extreme anti-Semitic hate is unacceptable and should be rejected.' On X, Rep McClain linked to an article from The Hill website which warned that the passing of bill would create a 'real and immediate legal risk not for Israel, but for American companies and investors'. The article, authored by three legal academics, Mark Goldfeder, Anat Beck and Erielle Davidson, outlines that the United States has had a long-standing policy going back to 1977 that US companies will not be allowed to participate in any boycott of Israel. 'Federal anti-boycott laws make it illegal for US companies to comply with foreign government boycott requests targeting Israel,' it says. 'That means American firms that change their behaviour in response to Ireland's new law – whether by cancelling contracts, terminating suppliers or rerouting goods away from Israeli partners in the West Bank – could face serious penalties at home.' More than 36 US states have adopted laws that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel, it said . Well-known US senator Lindsey Graham posted: I hope that Ireland will reconsider their efforts to economically isolate Israel, as they are in a fight for their very existence. I do not believe these efforts would be well received in the United States and they certainly would not go unnoticed.' Senator Rick Scott also linked to The Hill article: 'This foolish move not only wrongfully targets Israel & the Jewish Community, but also harms American businesses. They should think twice about the message they're sending by passing this bill, which complicates our economic relationship & targets our ally.' This foolish move not only wrongfully targets Israel & the Jewish Community, but also harms American businesses. They should think twice about the message they're sending by passing this bill, which complicates our economic relationship & targets our ally. Other members of congress who have warned Ireland about the consequences of the problem including congress members Mike Lawler, Mike Crapo, Peter Stauber and Claudia Tenny among a growing number of US politicians, most of them Republican, who have vocally opposed the Occupied Territories Bill Two weeks ago US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Senator Jim Risch said the Occupied Territories Bill 'will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering' for the State. Writing on X, the veteran Republican senator for Idaho said: 'Ireland, while often a valuable US partner, is on a hateful, anti-Semitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering. His comments were rejected by Taoiseach Micheál Martin. 'I would reject any assertion that this is anti-Semitic. I'm appalled of that assertion and that's something we're going to correct,' he said in response to Senator Risch's comments. 'We will work on our economic interests. We'll work to explain our position to interlocutors in the US and to the US administration.'
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Occupied Territories Bill unlikely to fall despite Oireachtas meeting
When the Occupied Territories Bill has been debated in the Oireachtas recently, it's usually framed in the context of the Opposition parties putting pressure on the Government to go further and faster with its proposed legislation. The Bill should include a ban on services as well as goods, the Opposition argues, and the Dáil and Seanad should sit in August to get the legislation passed into law as quickly as possible. Yesterday it was very different. That is because delegates from the Ireland Israel Alliance were before the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, along with some representatives of Ireland's Jewish community. They wanted to give all political parties - Coalition and Opposition - a piece of their mind. There was a slight degree of apprehension as everyone took their seats in Committee room 2, and so Chairperson John Lahart took the opportunity to say at the outset that while there are "strongly held views" on the Bill, every participant should be treated with respect. He also urged those in the public gallery not to interrupt. The first to speak was Maurice Cohen, who is Chair of Jewish Representative Council of Ireland. He declared: "I speak as an Irish citizen, born and raised here in Dublin," adding that the "small, long established Irish Jewish community" in Ireland "is now increasingly fearful". Part of that fear he said was down to the Occupied Territories Bill. Mr Cohen declared: "While this Bill may not set out to target Jews or Jewish life, its message is unmistakably felt by us." He continued: "Let me clear: criticism of Israel is not antisemitism, but when criticism becomes a campaign... we must pause." "This Bill is not a plan for peace. It is not a policy. It is a performance of misguided effort." "It won't bring two states closer, but it might drive Jewish communities here in Ireland further into fear and isolation," he warned. Mr Cohen was followed by the former Fine Gael Minister Alan Shatter who was more combative in the language he used. He claimed the Bill is the "first initiative of any European government to enact legislation to intentionally boycott and discriminate against Jews since the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945." "This antisemitic symbolism is reinforced by the absence from the Bill of any prohibition on the importation of goods originating from any other occupied territory'", he said. That was a theme which was continually raised during the Committee's hearing - only Israel was being targeted by the planned legislation. The Oireachtas was not going after Hamas which had triggered the latest conflict by killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping 250 others on 7 October 2023. The Oireachtas was also not going after Iran which had financed Hamas in Gaza, and other entities like Hezbollah in Lebanon. That is why Yoni Wieder, Chief Rabbi at the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, suggested the Bill "demonises Israel". The original Occupied Territories Bill which was introduced by Independent Senator Frances Black in 2018 didn't contain that distinction. It only said:"Illegal settler means a member of the civilian population of an occupying power who was or is present within the relevant occupied territory and whose presence is being, or has been, facilitated directly or indirectly, by the occupying power." In his opening statement, Alan Shatter claimed the Government's revised legislation - the Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Bill - is "essentially a sectarian measure based on falsehoods, riddled with obscurity and anomalies". One of the guests appeared via video link from London - Natasha Hausdorff, Legal Director of the UK Lawyers For Israel. She too zoned in on this issue, arguing: "This version of the Bill now abandons all pretence of going after so-called occupied territories and targets Israel explicitly." Ms Hausdorff also predicted that it could trigger a departure of US companies from Ireland due to "longstanding US anti-boycott legislation" which would pose grave risks for such firms continuing to trade in Ireland." When the moment came for engagement between the Committee members and their invited guests, a time limit came into play. Each TD and Senator had a total of 4 minutes to ask questions and for the invited guest to reply. The Independent Senator Alice Mary Higgins pushed back against the anti-Israeli narrative which had been directed against Ireland in the opening statements. She told the Committee that the Taoiseach Micheál Martin had repeatedly clarified that this is "not a boycott of Israel". "It does not affect Israeli goods," she said. "It only affects the settlements." She asked if the guests accepted that the settlements built in the West Bank are "illegal settlements". "Do you believe that they are part of Israel?" she inquired. That was followed-up by Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire Bary Ward who asked all the witnesses if they accept that "Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory are contrary to International Law." Deputy Ward asked for a yes or a no. Maurice Cohen said he would not be forced into single word answers. "I don't have a yes or a no because there isn't one," said Alan Shatter. He added he "does not accept" that the Israeli-occupied territories in the West Bank are illegally occupied land. Natasha Hausdorff said: "One cannot occupy what is one's sovereign territory." The exchanges were pointed, but not more than that. Later, Labour's Duncan Smith said all the witnesses had failed to recognise that the settlements in the Palestinian territories are illegal. "That's a fundamental point of divergence," he said, and contrary to international law. The only time that the tone of the debate frayed was after Mr Shatter claimed the Bill was a token gesture and akin to an episode of "Father Ted". The Fine Gael TD Brian Brennan recounted how he'd recently visited Cairo and met Palestinians from Gaza. He sat on the bed of a young man in the prime of his life who was dying, and held the hand "of a two year child that had bullet wounds". Responding to Mr Shatter's claim that the Occupied Territories Bill was nothing more than performance politics and a token gesture, Deputy Brennan said robustly: "How dare you come in here and make such statements!" Having referenced that he'd visited Israel, the West Bank and Gaza on countless occasions, Mr Shatter replied: "I don't think a single visit, deputy, to Egypt is the be-all and end-all to resolving the conflict. And this Bill certainly won't resolve the conflict.". Barrister Natasha Hausdorff went further and said the Bill was "succour to Hamas" and "antisemitic". That drew a something of a rebuke from the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart. He said a claim of antisemitism being levelled against TDs and Senators was hugely hurtful and slanderous. "It is the descent by the Israeli government and the Israeli Defense Forces into the darkest of places that certainly motivates - as far as I can see - all members of this Committee, from a humanitarian perspective." He added: "There isn't an antisemite in this room. There isn't an antisemite in the Dáil." Deputy Lahart said he believed Mr Shatter was "influential" and he urged him "to take that on board", including when dealing with those in the US establishment. Whatever about that request, Mr Shatter did not concede an inch of the Occupied Territories Bill. He maintained that Palestinian supporters of the Bill were being "fooled and misled" about it having any impact, and that resulted from the fact that "critical faculties are suspended" at Leinster House. In keeping with the Committee's broad approach, Sinn Féin's Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire sought to find some common position with the guests. The Cork South Central TD said the Jewish community in Ireland should feel welcome and a full part of Irish society. He added it is not right to put the responsibility of the actions of Israel's government on individual Jewish people. Deputy Ó Laoghaire then asked Alan Shatter if he accepted that Ireland is bound by international law and compelled to act. Mr Shatter said he studied international law but claimed that it has been "politicised and weaponised and distorted in political debate". The former Fine Gael minister maintained he believed that Ireland could play a real role to try and bring Israelis and Palestinians together. But that would require an even hand and, by extension, the Occupied Territories Bill would have to fall. The mood of the Committee suggested such a development was highly unlikely to happen.
